Skopje, 29 August 2024 (MIA) - Deputy PM and Minister of Transport and Communications Aleksandar Nikoloski believes the process of constitutional amendments and the Negotiating Framework are the main topics in Bulgarian media whenever there are elections in the country.

Minister Nikoloski was quizzed about the latest statement of the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which said that "the leadership in Skopje should be clear with the fact that attempts to launch ideas over renegotiations could only lead to distancing from the start of the negotiations".  

"This is not something new, it has been a policy in Bulgaria since 2020. The Macedonia topic is always abused during Bulgarian elections. I am not sure when their elections will take place, because they are so dysfunctional they cannot even schedule them. This is their seventh or eighth caretaker government, they cannot even find people to serve in the cabinet. They should first take care of their own house, elect a political government and we will sit down and talk with the political government. I do not intend to respond to unknown people who want to score politically just because they are officials in a government that has legitimacy from no one," Minister Nikoloski told reporters.

Members of commissions tasked with electing a contractor and supervisor for third section of railway leading to Bulgaria withdrawn

Minister Nikoloski said members of the evaluation commissions that were set to select the contractor and supervisor of the third section of the railway leading to Bulgaria have been withdrawn because the project is not realistic, not feasible and cannot be completed, but also due to it being compromised.

"We remain fully committed to the construction of the railway leading to Bulgaria, which is part of Corridor VIII, but in order to do this we must have a project that is feasible, a project that can be built and completed. A project that will be implemented in agreement with Bulgaria and not one ending in a tunnel that does not have an exit on the other side," Nikoloski told reporters.

The issue has already been discussed with EU officials and representatives of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the banks that provide the loan for the project.

"This project is an infrastructure feat that is currently not realistic and cannot be completed, since it includes 22 tunnels and 56 bridges at a 23km-long section, with an estimated value of about EUR 20 million per kilometer. In addition, Bulgaria has not done its part of the job since the project ends with a tunnel that goes nowhere," said Nikoloski.

Asked if he was also a victim of a bribe in order to support the project, similar to what Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski claimed a few days ago, he said the commission members have been withdrawn as a result of this information provided by the PM.

"This is the least we could do so that all those who attempt to bribe know we are not playing games. Seven companies have applied at the call and most of them are not even serious ones. There is not a single applicant coming from a serious EU member-state. These companies think they can attempt to bribe me, the PM of the commission members through their intermediaries. That is why we are terminating the procedure and withdrawing the members," said Nikoloski and added that a serious corruption-free project would be drafted in cooperation with the EU, Bulgaria and banks, along with guarantees provided by Sofia that it would construct the section on their side.

Committed to Corridor VIII motorways, Blace highway

Minister Nikoloski said they are committed to the construction of the Corridor VIII motorways and the Blace highway.

"An expressway is currently built between Kumanovo and Kriva Palanka and will be completed by the year-end, along with the enlargement of the road leading to the border crossing with Bulgaria. I expect the same from Bulgaria, since there is no expressway or highway 50-60km from the border onwards," said Nikoloski.

He expects the Ohrid-Kichevo motorway to be completed by the end of 2026, "although we face enormous problems".

"I expect a contractor to be selected for the Kichevo-Bukojchani motorway section by next spring, whereas the Gostivar-Bukojchani section is part of the Bechtel-Enka contract, it is already in a stage of expropriation and design, and I expect the first kilometers to be laid down next year," noted Nikoloski.

He added there are also works on the 14km-long Skopje-Blace motorway section, with the first two to be operational in the next couple of months.

"The remaining 12km of the motorway are similar to the railway leading to Bulgaria. The now-altered route goes through the mountain and six of those 12km are tunnels, which are very difficult to design. The motorway's estimated value is EUR 240 million, namely EUR 20 per kilometer. Therefore, we are revising the project to see if it is feasible. If not, we will see if we could use the existing route," underlined Nikoloski.

MIA file photo